MURDER-GO-ROUND: REVIEWS BY HARRIET KLAUSNER
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Harriet Klausner, was chosen the number
one reader in the entire USA by BOOK Magazine. What does that mean
to you? She reads constantly and knows what's out there and wants
to let you know, too. Read on for tips to great books from the wonder
reader Harriet Klausner. |
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May 2009
Just Take My Heart
Mary Higgins Clark
Simon and Schuster, Apr 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 1416570861
Several years ago Jamie Evans was seeing a married man Jess; her roommate Natalie Raines suggested she dump him because he will never dump his wife for her. A few weeks later, Jamie dies in what the neighbors and cops thought was a robbery turned ugly. Natalie thinks otherwise as she believes Jess either killed her or arranged it.
Over the next few years Natalie becomes an acclaimed Broadway star. Following a great performance, admirers come to her dressing room to congratulate her. She recognizes one of them calling him Jess as Jamie did. Fearing for her life, Natalie flees to her New Jersey home where he waits to kill her. She is found near dead with a bullet in her chest. Her soon top be ex husband Natalie's theatrical agent Gregg Aldrich is the prime suspect having been accused of stalking her. Still the evidence remains weak and loosely circumstantial until two years later convict Jimmy Easton insists Aldrich tried to hire him to kill Natalie; he offers insider information that supports his proclamation. ADA Emily Wallace is assigned to prosecute the case against Aldrich. As she works the case and the verdict comes in, Emily has doubts that reach deep into her transplanted new heart that warns her to beware of her friendly new neighbor.
Though the premise of a transplanted heart providing memories and messages from the original owner to the new owner is not new having been in books and movies (Hoskins-Washington film Heart Condition) numerous times, fans will enjoy this tense thriller. The story is told from Emily’s perspective as she shows an inner strength moving past the death of her spouse and adjusting to her heart transplant. She works the case brilliantly but has doubts even after the verdict. Fans will relish Mary Higgins Clark latest suspense as the killer of the two roommates will come as a hard to believe shocker
Harriet Klausner
Blood Bayou
Karen Young
Howard (Simon and Shuster), May 2009
ISBN: 1416587500
Lawyer Camille St. James works for the Truth Project, an organization whose mission is to get innocent people off death row and out of prison. Their latest success story is Chester Pelham, a man with low intelligence who was convicted of killing socialite Stephanie Hill in Blue Bayou New Orleans. After new evidence surfaced, the Louisiana Governor pardoned Chester. However during the news conference, a reporter blindsides Camille with the news that Chester was arrested in the death of Luanne Richard.
To make matters personal, the victim is Camille’s former sister-in-law. She has not seen her former husband Jack in seven years, but heads to Blue Bayou to make a condolence call. Jack has come a long way from driving drunk and running over Camille’s student as he is now a pastor. He blasts her for freeing Chester, but she defends herself and furthermore insists he is innocent. She intends to prove Chester did not kill Luanne. Someone makes two attempts on killing Camille, which shakes Jack up as he agrees to help her find the real culprit. As their love reignites, she does not have his faith and has doubts about ever forgiving him for what he did to them even as the killer waits for the right moment.
BLOOD BAYOU is an exciting suspense thriller with a romantic subplot that fits perfectly into the main storyline. The heroine is dedicated to insure justice occurs as she works for what is the equivalent to the Freedom Project; however that same obstinacy that is so helpful in her vocation prevents her from forgiving Jack who desperately wants a second chance. Although the theme of a stalking killer in the lurk is old, Karen Young refreshes it with the Truth project, strong characterizations especially the star-crossed lead pair, and a terrific whodunit rivaling the suspense of Mary Higgins Clark.
Harriet Klausner
The Devlin Diary
Christi Phillips
Pocket, May 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 9781416527398
In 2008 historian Clare Donovan is exhilarated with attaining her goal; albeit even if the assignment is temporary. She is a history lecturer at Trinity College in Cambridge. Clare plans to enjoy every moment at least in the classroom; as she finds academia filled with backstabbers who make Parliament debates look like preschool squabbles.
The professors react differently with the news that charismatic Professor Derek Goodman was murdered while grasping in a death grip a page from the encrypted diary of seventeenth century physician Hannah Devlin. As they did with their search for THE ROSSETTI LETTER, Clare and Andrew Kent investigates the death of Goodman only as it connects to the more intriguing baffling death of Princess Henriette-Anne, sister to King Charles II and sister-in-law to King Louis XIV.
Although the overall premise is similar to that of THE ROSSETTI LETTER, the second Donovan-Kent dual investigation is a fresh tale that combines a modern day whodunit with a seventeenth century romantic royal mystery. The two subplots are deep especially the look at the times of Princess Henriette-Anne. Fans will relish the delightful DEVLIN DIARY while wondering what twofold mystery next will send Clare on the cases.
Harriet Klausner
Fifty Grand
Adrian McKinty
Holt, May 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 9780805089004
On an icy isolated Colorado mountain road, an illegal immigrant is killed in a hit and run. Law enforcement gives the case nothing as the victim has no rights and was just a rodent catcher; besides which someone in the affluent town of Fairview probably killed the man who should never have been there in the first place, and no cop is going after the wealthy.
Six months later the case is tundra cold when a woman makes the dangerous trek across the border. She barely survives, but manages to reach Fairview where she obtains work as a maid. The woman is an illegal immigrant but not from Mexico and is not looking for work in the States. Though an extremely dangerous trek to get to her destination, Havana Police Detective Mercado snuck out of Cuba and through Mexico into the States obsessed with finding out who killed her father; an intellectual exile whom she had not seen in fourteen years, in a hit and run near Fairview six months ago in which the driver left him to die.
This is an exhilarating thriller from the onset when the illegal rat catcher is allowed to die and six months later when an undercover investigation by another illegal turns into a cat and mouse encounter. The story line is fast-paced with a neat final twist as Adrian McKinty provides readers with an entertaining tale driven by a strong cast especially the avenging Cuban.
Harriet Klausner
Worst Nightmares
Shane Brian
Vanguard, May 12 2009, $23.95
ISBN 9781593155148
In downtown Los Angeles homeless bum Albert K. Arnold accosts bestselling author Dermot Nolan at the latter’s warehouse home. Dermot’s first reaction is the visitor is crazy. Still, he accepts a manuscript from the derange person mostly to get him out of his face.
Nolan puts aside My Worst Nightmares, a journal of an abusive serial killer who catches his victims over his net site Dream Healer before committing atrocities based on the prey’s biggest fear. When Arnold dies, Nolan takes a closer look at the manuscript. Suffering from writer’s block since his last book was sold to Hollywood last year, Nolan and his wife adapt Arnold’s book and publish it as his. However, there is one problem that surfaces with the plagiarism of the manuscript; evidence mounts that My Worst Nightmares records real homicides that make the writer a person of interest to LAPD, the FBI and a serial killer working the Internet to ensnare his targets.
Mindful of A Murder of Crows starring Cuba Gooding Jr., WORST NIGHTMARES is a terrific thriller as Nolan crumbling under writing pressure to produce his next novel takes a seemin shortcut that leaves him in a greater pressure cooker. Readers will know who his antagonist is, but not care as the fun in the tale is to see whether the novelist can extract himself and his wife out of peril from a lethal serial killer and with the law that believes he is the lethal serial killer.
Harriet Klausner
Dead and Gone
Charlaine Harris
Ace, May 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9780441017157
Telepath Sookie Stackhouse works as a waitress at Merlotte’s Diner in Bon Temps, Louisiana. When Japanese scientists invented synthetic blood, vampires came out of the coffins and introduced themselves over TV. Although the new world needs some getting used to and help groups form, life for the most part have somewhat settled down as people realize vampires have been part of the assimilated population for centuries. It is now the shapeshifters turn to come out into the open.
However, some humans react violently towards the news. The owner of Merlotte’s stepdaughter almost kills her mother. Female shifter is crucified in Merlotte’s parking lot; she is the estranged wife of Sookie’s brother. Sookie’s great grandfather Niall is at war with an enemy who wants to kill and Sookie is sought by his adversaries as a potential hostage; several attempts to either abduct or kill her occur. Having a brother who is a were-panther means he will protect her but Sookie underestimates the threat to her and her loved ones by an ancient evil species more powerful than weres, vamps and humans combined.
True Blood is the TV show based on the Sookie novels and like this tale and previous entries are great urban fantasies. With all the different species surfacing who previously were assumed to be myths, Sookie and one other person are the only known telepaths in the United States. Although a bit less action oriented than other books in the series, Readers get to know the characters better and Sookie finally has some romance in her life. Charlaine Harris is one of the best urban fantasy world builders writing today
Harriet Klausner
Wicked Prey
John Sandford
Putnam, May 12 2009, $27.95
ISBN: 9780399155673
In 2008, the Republican Party is holding its presidential nomination convention in St. Paul. The Twin Cities brace themselves for all the expected visitors including conventioneers, protestors, pick pockets, and professional robbers looking for easy prey.
Besides the city police patrolling the city and trying to keep the convention safe from fringe elements on both sides of the political spectrum, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Lucas Davenport and his team are also in town trying to help maintain law and order. Additionally the city has one more special visitor with a seething grudge. Randy Whitlock, a thief who was accidentally shot leaving him wheelchair bound, has plans for revenge against the culprit he holds responsible for crippling his life. He plans to shoot Davenport’s fourteen year old daughter so she can be wheelchair bound for life. Finally a team of operatives led by Brutus Cohn and Rosie Cruz has converged with a deadly mission.
Using the real Replica National Convention as a backdrop, WICKED PREY is a great police procedural that never slows down until McCain and company leave the Twin Cities. The story line is fast-paced and filled with plenty of action while also providing a law enforcement perspective to a major public event. The villains are kick butt in differing ways. Paraphrasing Biden’s description of Guliani, Randy only speaks with a verb and an “F” modified noun; while the Cohn-Cruz team are professionals with an intriguing agenda. John Sanford provides a tense thriller using a major real event to showcase what police deal with in the post 2001 world.
Harriet Klausner
Blood from Stone
Laura Anne Gilman
Luna, May 2009, $14.95
ISBN: 9780373802975
Magic in the twenty-first century is created by channeling currents the same way electricity powers machines. Wren Valere is a powerful Talent and an excellent Retriever who takes things her clients want for a colossal sum of money. Her business partner and lover Sergei find her next assignment which is to she snatch a boy who is the focus of a custody suit; the child has Talent so his parents sold him to a man who wants those powers. Wren put a compulsion on the lad’s father keep the child and care for him.
She has no time to catch her breath because her friend the demon P.J.. has a problem. He was created to enable a Talent to discharge channeled energy. The people after him are descendents of his creators and plan to use him to create new demons for them to use. Sergei and Wren risk their lives to stop this dangerous fiasco from occurring.
This ends the Retriever saga with quite a climax that will hook fans interested in how several themes play out; will Sergei and Wren work out their differences and will they save the demon P.JI. are among the questions answered. Laura Anne Gilman proves once again she is a gifted fantasist over the course of the final tale (and the overall series) as her heroic lead couple evolves. Though it pays for newcomers to read the five previous Retriever thrillers first, fans of the novels will know that master enchantress Laura Anne Gilman can draw BLOOD FROM STONE.
Harriet Klausner
Martyr
Rory Clements
Bantam, May 2009, $24.00
ISBN 9780385342827
In 1587 Queen Elizabeth considers the consequences of executing her prime rival Mary, Queen of Scots vs. keeping the threat of revolt by leaving her alive. At the same time, English spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham learns of an assassination plot from a reliable source that the Spanish want to kill naval hero Sir Francis “El Draque” Drake; his murder would cause havoc in the country as he has caused trouble for Spain and known for sailing aroud the world.
Walsingham assigns assistant secretary and chief intelligencer John Shakespeare to investigate the scheme and quickly concludes the Drake plot is tied to the murder of a relative of the Queen Lady Blanche Howard, whose corpse mutilated with numerous stabbings was found in a London fire. John’s inquiries angers the Queen’s loyal supporter Richard Topcliffe, who uses torture to obtain confessions from Her Highness’ enemies especially Catholics. Richard warns John to back off or he will come after Shakespeare’s father, who empathizes with Catholics, and insure his brother’s writing and acting career fails.
This is a superb Elizabethan thriller starring Will’s older brother John just prior to the execution of Mary and a tear before the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The investigations into the murder of Elizabeth's cousin and the conspiracy to kill Drake are top rate especially the way Rory Clements ties them together. With a deep look at the era as well, Elizabethan period and historical mystery fans will appreciate this delightful novel.
Harriet Klausner
No Such Creature
Giles Blunt
Holt, Ape 27 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 0805080627
An orphan for years, eighteen year old Owen Maxwell has toured the country with his verbose Shakespearean actor Uncle, Magnus "Max" Maxwell conning wealthy Republicans. However after doing this for a few years, Owen has a chance to attend Juilliard. He tries to persuade his uncle to give up the criminal life as Max is getting on in years and should retire, and the teen wants to attend the drama school.
As they leave San Francisco for Vegas with their latest loot, Zig and the Subtractors come after them; the gang is known for catching up with thieves in order to rob them after they pound the crap out of their prey. On the run from the Subtractors the duet meet twenty year old Sabrina Bertrand, daughter of the legendary jailed felon Pontiff. With her also in trouble from a security guard obsessing on her, she joins the uncle and nephew as they flee across the country
Although none of the key players are full blooded though they bleed, NO SUCH CREATURE is a zany crime caper that seems on the verge of going out of control, but never quite does. Leaving Canada for the States (giving Homicide Detectives John Cardinal and Lise Delorme a breather), Giles Blunt provides an over the top chess game between violent criminals and rakish criminals. Bluntly fans of Elmore Leonard will want to join the cross country marathon.
Harriet Klausner
Final Finesse
Karna Small Bodman
Forge, May 2009, $26.95
ISBN 9780765322524
During a particularly wintry cold spell in Oklahoma, a natural-gas pipeline explodes leaving one person dead and thousands without heat. White House Deputy Director for Homeland Security Samantha Reid leads the investigation in determining the cause.
More explosions occur to the pipeline leaving many to wonder if terrorism is the root cause. When Reid meets the pipeline’s company GeoGlobal Oil & Gas Vice President Tripp Adams, she immediately wants him. He appears to reciprocate. When he vanishes without a trace while on a business trip in Venezuela, Reid dumps her work and goes AWOL to rescue him.
This exciting political romantic suspense thriller takes off from the onset as the temperature in the home of a Sooner couple drops to 30 degrees and never slows down until the final energy segue in the State of the Union address. The story line is fast-paced especially when Reid and Tripp meet for the first time. Although readers will doubt a high ranking political appointee would abandon her post even for love and use her body to gain access on her quest to save Tripp, fans will appreciate this exhilarating tale as Karna Small Bodman once again combines strange bedfellows; romance and politics (see CHECKMATE and GAMBIT).
Harriet Klausner
Buyout
Alexander C. Irvine
Del Rey, Mar 31 2009, $14.00
ISBN: 9780345494337
In 2040 Los Angeles middle management insurance executive Martin Kindred works for Antelope Valley Casualty, a firm seeking to increase profit margin after a fiscally disastrous 2039. The brass comes up with a terrific reengineering solution to cut government costs and obtain revenue by eliminating overcrowding in prisons caused by the increase over the past few decades to 22 crimes leading to automatic life sentences without freeing the incarcerated. The beneficiaries of lifers with no chance for parole will receive millions if the convict opts for immediate death.
Martin is assigned the task of preparing the prisoner-volunteer for execution and subsequently giving the check to their survivors. The once dead pro-life movement resurfaces in a furor over the cold hearted bottom line execution. Martin finds himself caught in the crosshairs, which impact his marriage. However, his neutrality collapses when his brother the cop is murdered.
Using hyperbole to extrapolate America’s second greatest growth industry during the Bush Administration, the warehousing zealousness of convicts (military contractors were first), Alexander C. Irvine provides a profound futuristic parable. The story line leaves the audience questioning the prison system especially privatization in which the government pays by the number of prisoners incarcerated. BUYOUT is a well written dark winner using trend analysis exaggerated into the future to provide a solution to America’s fondness for prison warehousing
Harriet Klausner
Burning Alive
Shannon K. Butcher
Onyx, May 2009, $7.99
ISBN 9780451412713
In a diner in Olathe, Kansas, Helen Day recognizes the man who has been the focus of her nightmares. She is positive she never met her Vision Man before except in her dreams, but she knows that face is the one she sees almost every time she falls asleep because y when she is awake she recalls the details of this male standing near her while observing her die in a fire.
Drake is a bit stunned by the deep attraction he feels for Helen; as he has been around for ages. He is a Theronai warrior, whose species is dying; he fears for the safety of humanity, who he and his peers vigilantly protect. Helen reciprocates his regard, but does not trust him as she fears their relationship will end in her fiery death. When their demonic enemy the Synestryn attacks her, Drake battles them to keep her safe. She still believes in her vision, but also believes Drake is on her side.
This is an exciting romantic urban fantasy starring two strong lead protagonists as star-crossed wannabe lovers. Fascinatingly though the two other species come across as genuine and the confrontations between them well written and exciting, the human Helen owns the entertaining story line with her divided emotions. On the one hand she is falling in love with her self-proclaimed guardian, but on the other hand she distrusts him as Vision Man does nothing to save her from her fiery nightmares. Shannon K. Butcher adds her trademark suspense with plenty of tension and danger to the mix of a terrific paranormal thriller.
Harriet Klausner
The Killings on Jubilee Terrace
Robert Barnard
Scribner, May 5 2009, $24.00
ISBN: 1416559426
Jubilee Terrace remains the second most popular soap opera in England in spite of being on the air for years. Actors come and go; almost always either being released or quitting for another job. However, top star Vernon Watts accidentally is hit by a bus. To appease upset viewers, Reggie Friedman brings back Hamish Fawley on the show; Hamish plays Cyril Wharton, who came home to die from TB.
Bet Garrett and Hamish pretend to marry and threaten to gain custody of her three children. She does not want her brats, but her husband Bill, who also performs on the show, actually wants his offspring so she uses her daughters as an extortion device. Bill believes his wife and Hamish are deceitful and is unable to let go of his his seething rage. Someone kills Hamish and his latest chippie and rumors spread that Watts’ seemingly accidental death was no accident. Leeds Inspector Charlie Peace, who thinks soap is to wash hands, investigates in what seems to him as if he stars as Alice in Wonderland without the benefit of the rabbit or the looking glass. He struggles with separating TV persona from real personalities as everyone seems to perform all the time. In terms of Hamish, he quickly realizes everyone had a strong motive to see the final curtain fall on the nasty actor playing his last role.
Most of the novel takes the reader back stage behind the scenes of a soap opera so they think they get to know the key characters rather quickly; albeit with the same problem Peace has as the reader wonders whether they are seeing the real person or a role. The investigation is intense, but takes a long time to solve. No one will care as Charlie plays second fiddle, which adds freshness to the wonderful police procedural series; as Robert Barnard shines a deep spotlight behind the TV wall where acrimony and backstabbing are not hidden behind a performance.
Harriet Klausner
The Book Of Love
Kathleen McGowan
Touchstone, Mar 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9780743299978
Maureen Paschal has become a bestselling novelist after writing a so called fictional account of her recent quest in search of and uncovering the secrets of Mary Magdalene (see THE EXPECTED ONE). However, instead of basking in her glory, she receives a strange package with a symbol and a medieval letter from a Countess Matilda; she also suffers from dreams that interfere with her sleep; Jesus directs her to find the Book of Love.
Knowing not to ignore messages, Maureen travels to France to discuss this with her lover Berenger Sinclair. He explains the supposed manuscript has never been proven to exist, but allegedly is the gospel as written by Jesus. They both receive enigmatic clues that send them to search for the eleventh century true believer in the existence of the gospel, Countess Matilda of Tuscany. As they follow Matilda’s wandering in Western Europe with the help of Maureen’s Jesuit scholar cousin Father Peter Healy, some Vatican officials want the truth to remain buried; if that includes burying Maureen and Berenger so be it.
This second "Magdalene Line" thriller is action-packed from the moment the heroine travels to France and never slows down as the race for the Jesus Gospel takes off even with its obvious Brownian connection. The story line intermingles the present subplot with Matilda's adventures, but each feels a bit overloaded with in fairness insightful Christian cryptic canon that adds to the readers understanding of religious dogma a millennium ago vs. today but also slows down the pace. THE BOOK OF LOVE is a deep exhilarating novel.
Harriet Klausner
Never Say Sty
Linda O. Johnston
Berkley, Apr 2009, $$7.99
ISBN: 9780425227046
She is both a Los Angeles attorney and a pet-sitter, who solved a client’s litigation problem by helping to create the pet reality show Animal Auditions. It is a Survivor type show using animals who are eliminated each week until the last one standing wins a great prize. At a meeting she met tall, dark and handsome Dante De Francisco who owns the chain Hot Pets. Kendra Ballantine is attracted to him and him to her although neither welcomes the feelings.
The first animals to be judged are pot-bellied pigs, who have a sense of smell, which is a key component of the competition. One of the judges mean tempered Sebastian Czykovski who is nasty towards the pigs and their owners. When he is murdered, the detective in charge Howard Wherlon leads the investigation as the usual sleuth has a conflict of interest being a contestant. Ned and his sister Nia are the prime suspects so Ned asks Kendra to help him find the real killer. She, her former lover, his assistant and Dante create an ingenious plan to smoke out the culprit.
Putting aside the fact a professional asks an amateur for help in a murder case, Linda O. Johnson’s latest Pet-Sitter mystery is a refreshing (the normal in this series- see DOUBLE DOG DARE) fascinating whodunit. Still reeling from her break up with PI Jeff Hubbard, Kendra is hesitant to begin a relationship with an also reluctant Dante, who has a secret past that does not exist on record before his military duty. As is typical in this engaging series, the animals steal the show; this time the scenes with the pot-bellied pigs are hilarious as are those with the canines. Fans will enjoy the latest pet sitter caper.
Harriet Klausner
Wormwood
Susan Wittig Albert
Berkley, Apr 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 9780425226094
In Pecan Springs, Texas, herbalist and entrepreneur China Bayles is emotionally exhausted after discovering she had a half-brother Miles who wanted to get to know her; only, Miles was murdered leaving behind an orphaned daughter Caitlin to be raised by her Aunts Marcia and China. They want to make the tweener comfortable as China plans to be the best guardian she can be.
China and her friend Martha Edmond go on vacation to the Mt Zion Shaker village, a tourist attraction in Kentucky. Martha tells China about a series of “accidents” in the village culminating with an arson fire that left several horses dead. She asks China to investigate, which the sleuth does. They learn from the accounting officer Allie that some stocks are missing form the endowment trust. Soon afterward the two women find Allie murdered. They know that someone will kill especially meddling investigators to keep the truth concealed.
This is the usual great Bayles whodunit, but enhanced with a strong look at the history of the Shaker movement as Martha’s grandmother lived in Mt Zion; her story rotates with the modern day mystery. Obviously Susan Wittig Albert has done a lot of meticulous research into the Shaker culture especially the belief system as the lifestyle comes across as if the audience is visiting a late nineteenth century village. Fans will enjoy China’s latest tale as ironically, the crimes of the present mirror that of the past.
Harriet Klausner
Patterns in the Sand
Sally Goldenbaum
Obsidian, May 2009, $ $23.95
ISBN: 0451227034
Sea Harbor, Massachusetts is a place where people from all fields of art live and work. The village has its own artists’ colony and the serenity has enabled many residents to get their creative juices flowing. Late at night fiber artist Willow Adams comes to town with no place to sleep. She breaks into the Seaside Knitters Studio falling asleep at the window facing the street.
The police arrive, but the store’s owner Izzy Chambers refuses to file any charges. Willow tells her and Seaside Knitters Nell, Cass and Birdie that she came to see them to discuss her fiber art. She also wants to meet her biological father Aiden Peabody who allegedly deserted her mother before she was born. However before father and daughter meet, Aiden is found dead, a poison victim. As the main benefactor of Aiden’s will as well as desertion issues, she is the prime suspect of the police. However, the Seaside Knitters club members think otherwise and encouraging one another they plan to prove she is innocent by finding the real killer one stitch at a time.
The second Seaside Knitters amateur sleuth tale (see DEATH BY CASHMERE) is an exciting tight knit whodunit that emphasizes life in a small Massachusetts town in which art is the focus of the community. Told by Nell, the ambience of the art colonies and the tension of the investigation make for a fine one sitting read. Similar in tone and location to Anne Canadeo’s WHILE MY PRETTY ONE KNITS, Sally Goldenbaum entertains with this strong thriller the knitting mystery crowd; who have a high quality bar set by Monica Ferris’ Minnesota Crewel World and Maggie Sefton’s Colorado House of Lambspun.
Harriet Klausner
A Corpse for Yew
Joyce and Jim Lavene
Berkley, May 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425228104
The drought in North Carolina is so severe that Lake Whitley dried up leading to historical preservationists looking at the beds including a graveyard. While the profits at Peggy Lee’s The Potting Shed has dried up too, she joins her mom and the other members of the historical society on the dry mud search. Genevieve Curtis steps on a body of a fellow member who had bright red lips. The victim is Lois Mullin, who arrived early without informing anyone.
The autopsy reveals Lois had yew in her system, which means she was poisoned. The Police Chief turns out to be the dead woman’s nephew and he dropped her off at the site before going to work. Everyone wants to believe a horrific accident occurred, but many questions remain unanswered. Peggy thinks the woman was murdered and the female members of the Historical Society persuade her to investigate as she has solved homicides before (see PERFECT POISON). She agrees, but finds an over abundance of suspects to include the nephew, the artifact thief, and members of the society.
Putting aside why Peggy the amateur sleuth would investigate, Joyce and Jim Lavene prove once again they are an excellent writing team as they provide a quality regional whodunit. There are numerous suspects even beyond those described above so picking out the killer is difficult and as puzzling. The question that needs to be answered first is why murder a seemingly harmless elderly woman. A CORPSE FOR YEW contains lighter moments like the heroine hiding her lover from her parents even though she is fiftyish widow, but it is her investigation that makes for a fun Garden mystery.
Harriet Klausner
Gone Tomorrow
Lee Child
Delacorte, May 19 2009, $27.00
ISBN 9780385340571
On a nearly vacant Manhattan subway train, former MP Jack Reacher notices the female passenger acting odd. She shows all the nervous signs of a suicide bomber as proscribed by the Israeli military, an occupation by definition always means first timer. The Israreli list of signs contains eleven points in common between the genders; this woman has all of them as the local train heads from Bleeker St. with stops in between towards Grand Central. Absurd as he thinks it is, Reacher follows his gut and calmly confronts her. In her bag is not wires, but a gun she pulls out and points at him before turning it on herself blowing away her head.
NYPD Detective Theresa Lee questions Reacher especially about the Israeli list that led to the “false positive” suicide. Detective Docherty offers a different scenario accusing Reacher of homicide, but the vet calls the cop dumb insisting they are stalling until the Feds arrive. When the FBI does they question Reacher before walking away. Leaving the precinct, he is accosted by four men wanting information and after that by the victim's brother, who insists his sister would not kill herself. Before long Jack finds himself pulled in two directions; one back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the other into the heart of the global war on terrorism; neither make sense, but Jack knows his mission is to kill the bad guys before they cause harm.
The opening sequence as poorly described above is brilliant as Reacher is pulled into an international mess one step at a time. The story line gets even better as the tension mounts as Reacher finds himself caught in the middle. Fans of the series will believe GONE TOMORROW is one of the best entries (that says a lot with the consistency of this series) while newcomers could not ask for a better introduction to the world of the nomadic former MP.
Harriet Klausner
The Cat, The Quilt, and the Corpse
Leann Sweeney
Obsidian, May 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 0451225740
Ten months a widow, Jillian Hart obtains solace from her three cats who she loves with all her heart. Jillian comes home from an overnight business trip to hear Chablis sneezing, which means his allergy to humans was triggered by a trespasser. She searches her house until she finds a broken window near a busted door. The only thing apparently missing is her Abyssinian Syrah; Jillian calls the police, but catnapping is not high on their list of crimes.
She finds a clue when she visits the animal shelter run by Alison and Shawn. They believe Flake Wilkerson abducted her feline because he was always looking at purebreds; additionally some of their sheltered cats, also purebreds, are missing. Jillian visits Flake’s home, but finds nothing. On her second trip, she sees Syrah leaving out the open from door, but also sees her go back in. She tries to catch her cat but instead she finds Flake on the floor with a knife protruding from his gut. The cops assume Jillian is the killer as she had motive, means, and opportunity until evidence leads to another suspect. Jillian is happy her cat is home with her but disagrees that the suspect in custody is guilty. She wonders if her South Carolina town is home to the Keystone Cops. She investigates and wastes one of her nine lives almost getting killed by the culprit.
Cat lovers will empathize with the grief the heroine feels when one of her felines goes missing. Already somewhat a recluse since her husband died, Jillian forces herself to rescue her beloved Syrah. Thus the catnapping leads her to make new friends and to start living again though she will feel incomplete until the killer is in custody. Fans will enjoy her amateur sleuth investigation though wonder why she risks her life to prove the suspect is innocent.
Harriet Klausner
Killer Cuts
Elaine Viets
Obsidian, May 2009, $22.95
ISBN: 0451226860
When a judge awarded her cheating husband half of her considerable earnings, she refused to pay it (see SHOP TILL YOU DROP). Defying the court order, she left the state, changed her name to Helen Hawthorne, and ended up in Fort Lauderdale at the Coronado Tropic Apartments where she becomes friends with the landlady Margery Flax. She accepts dead-end jobs with her latest at Miguel Angel’s salon where she receives tips and minimum wage for running errands, making drinks, and sweeping floors.
Miguel and Helen go to the house of Honey’s fiancé to fix her hair and make-up so she can marry a privileged old billionaire Kingman Oden who writes the Stardust Gossip blog that tell all about celebrities. Honey is pregnant and refuses to marry Kingman if he insists on a pre-nuptial. One hour after they exchange vows, the “King” is dead, a homicide victim. Miguel is the prime suspect because he was seen arguing with the victim and issued a loud death threat at the King. Helen refuses to accept that Miguel killed Oden; so she seeks evidence to clear him while trying to get all the details finished for her wedding to Phil. However, increasingly everything so far hangs Miguel.
The latest Dead-End Job mystery (see CLUBBED TO DEATH) is an exciting whodunit made much more fascinating by the fact that the victim is an unsympathetic character who had enough enemies to fill the Miami Orange Bowl (pre- demolition that is). The King royally pissed off his ex-wife, his former mistress, his ex business partner and much of the Southern Florida population. The support cast adds a key degree of plausibility to this fine amateur sleuth, but it is Helen with Phil’s help who owns the plot as she does her best to exonerate her boss; her efforts lead her into interesting scenarios.
Harriet Klausner
Bronx Justice
Joseph Teller
Mira, Apr 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 0778326357
In 1979 former legal aid attorney Harrison J. Walker struggles to make a success of his legal practice having gone private because he could no longer handle the stupidity of what was expected of him; which rarely was in the interest of his indigent client. In the middle of the night Jay receives a call from a distressed woman who begs him to defend her son. Inez Kingston says her adult child Darren has been accused of five counts of rape. Jay agrees to defend Darren.
In the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, five different women picked Darren as their attacker. The DA believes it has an iron-clad case. Jay reluctantly agrees, but will insure he mounts the best defense he can. After interviewing his client, Jay begins to believe perhaps Darren is innocent. However, with each woman adamant even Jay goes back to his original position of guilty. Still as this case works through the process, Jay knows this case has fundamentally changed how he looks at the system. Decades later with his spouse dead for ten years and their daughter in her thirties, he knows the Castle Hill rapist case will always haunt him.
Jaywalker’s second legal thriller (see THE TENTH CASE) is once again an insightful look at the dysfunctional American jurisprudence system from the perspective of an attorney whose outlook on defending his clients is much different than the typical lawyer. This case occurs much earlier than the previous book as this time the relatively inexperienced Jaywalker learns the tricks of the trade in a defense that haunts him three decades later. With a historical feel to the pre-DNA legal system of the 1970s, fans will enjoy Joseph Teller’s deep look at injustice, American style.
Harriet Klausner
Dead Before Dark
Wendy Corsi Staub
Zebra, Apr 2009, $6.99
ISBN 9781420101324
The Night Watchman serial killer was as infamous as any back in the sixties; but abruptly the murder spree ended. Now thirty-five years later, the only person who knows personally what happened to the Night Watchman all those years ago is released from Attica. Three and a half decades is a long time between kills, but he is back and quickly knows who his final victim will be though he has a few other murders to make on his trek across America before he completes his final masterpiece. He chose psychic detective Lucinda Sloan as the last victim after seeing her on television as he finds her skill to “see” murders fascinating.
The Night Watchman needs to prepare the last one for death by engaging her in a game of cat and mouse. He sends her cryptic notes that he also gives to her friend Cam Hastings, who still has not recovered from her daughter’s abduction last summer or for that matter the murder of her sister years ago (see DYING BREATH). Finally the egotistical killer sends the same notes to former FBI agent Vic Shattuck, who is writing a true crime nonfiction about the Night Watchman. None of the trio can quite figure out from the strange missives who is next, but the Night Watchman is narrowing the field as his great finish to his grand tour is coming.
Although serial killers sending clues to the cops have been around for quite a long time, DEAD BEFORE DARK is a terrific thriller starring an evil, efficient and effective psychopath and the three people he chooses to spice up his second coming. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the reader meets the Night Watchman, who knows his first task as a free man is to kill. Sub-genre fans will appreciate this fine saga as Lucinda realizes by the third homicide that the serial killer is playing chess with her.
Harriet Klausner
Mary Jane’s Grave
Stacy Dittrich
Leisure, May 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780843961607
In March 1898, four men killed her infant son, raped her and her daughter Madeline, and burned her as a witch. With her last breath, Mary Jane Hendrickson using her gift and cursed the men and the grounds where they committed their atrocities. The sexual assault of Madeline left her pregnant. In the present, the grave of Mary Jane was buried by a tree in the middle of an old cemetery where teens fool around scaring one another.
Sargent CeeCee Gallagher is called to the Mount Olive Cemetery because the murdered body of Keri Sutter was found on Mary Jane’s grave. She had been separated from her friends who swore they saw an old woman and heard the scream of a baby crying though no infant was seen. CeeCee assumes one of the students killed Keri and used the Mary Jane witch tale to frighten the others. Elder Willie Morris suggests CeeCee look up the history . The detective does and learns that twenty years ago another teen was stoned to death on the grave-site; the culprit got away with murder. CeeCee continues investigating into Mary Jane’s life and death tracking ancestry and descendants onto the present in order to prevent more homicides.
A CeeCee Gallagher police procedural is always a treat (see THE DEVIL’S CLOSET) as the sergeant gives her readers a deep look at how she runs an investigation and why she takes some of the key steps that she does. The audience also receives glimpses of her love affair with FBI Agent Michael Haggar while he deals with a treacherous former wife who will do anything to get him back. The who-done-it is terrific with its ties to the late nineteenth century atrocities as Stacy Dittrich provides a unique voice with a fresh brisk thriller starring a heroine who resonates with readers.
Harriet Klausner
Strong Enough to Die
Jon Land
Forge, May 2009, $24.95
ISBN 9780765312587
A fifth generation Texas Ranger, Caitlin Strong knows law enforcement is part of her DNA makeup. That is until the border incident near El Paso in 2004 left Caitlin with doubts about law enforcement after her sixty year old partner and family friend Charlie Weeks died and she barely made it in a nasty shootout with mules. She was so traumatized by the episode she becomes the first member of her proud family to quit.
Five years later, Caitlin remains haunted by the border ambush. She feels guilt for letting down her family and for simply surviving. Finally seeking closure, she investigates the incident that destroyed her life. The first stunner she uncovers is her spouse Peter Goodwin is alive living in a special hospital that treats only torture victims. She soon begins to uncover a sinister diabolical plot involving super-patriot Harmon Delladonne and his security firm MacArthur-Rain. When her efforts place her on Delladonne’s endangered species list, she turns to her former enemy, outlaw Cort Wesley Masters as Delladonne has ties to Mexican Mafiosi chief Emiliato Valdez Garza.
This is a strong thriller that cleverly ties the Global War on Terrorism in the Middle East with the human, drugs, and weapons smuggling back and forth between the USA and Mexico. The story line is fast-paced and Caitlin makes a remarkable heroine. Although the climax seems to have too many purposes besides tying up this tale like setting up a sequel, fans will enjoy Jon Land who always provides an entertaining thriller.
Harriet Klausner
The Last Testament
Sam Bourne
Harper, May 2009, $26.99
ISBN 9780061470868
The election for President of the United States remains a close one with a few weeks to go. Anything could trigger victory for either side.
Meanwhile scorned former diplomat Maggie Costello mediates a final Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. At the same time the Israeli Prime Minister appears at a peace rally to show his support to the agreement. Renowned academia right winger Shimon Guttman approaches the PM reaching into his pocket to take out a note to deliver to the PM; but Israeli security forces react instantly as they assume he grabs a weapon killing him. Fearing the incident could derail the peace talks, Costello obtains the cooperation of Guttman’s son to try to learn what Shimon wanted to tell the PM.
This is an intriguing thriller with ties that go back to Abraham starring a career diplomat who fell from grace a year ago with her humiliation in Africa, but has a second chance as the United States sees her as the “Closer” of hard negotiations. The story line is fast-paced as Costello and Guttman quickly realize that RIGHTEOUS MEN of America, Israel, and Palestine want control of Shimon’s “secret”. Although the web confession climax seems ludicrous, readers will enjoy this exciting Holy Land thriller which connects the twenty-first century feud to the Old Testament.
Harriet Klausner
A Trace of Smoke
Rebecca Cantrell
Forge, May 2009, $24.95
ISBN 9780765320445
In 1931 thirty two years old crime reporter for the Berliner Tageblatt Hannah Vogel visits Berlin’s Hall of the Unnamed Dead. There on the wall is the picture of an unknown naked corpse whom she recognizes. The victim is her beloved gay brother Ernst, who could not harm a fly; he had no papers because he gave them to their Jewish friends to escape dangerous Germany for New York.
Outraged that someone would torture and kill her effeminate kind sibling, she knows she must remain silent re his identity or her “lost papers until their friends reach America. Still Hannah investigates using Ernst’s sexual proclivity and his performing at the underground El Dorado cabaret as the starting points. With the help of her dedicated lover and a young urchin claiming to be her nephew, Hannah makes her inquiries including the claim of the street kid that her obviously gay brother sired a child.
This is a powerful historical tale that looks deep inside the souls of the groups that make up the Weimer Republic at a time when Hitler is just starting to rise in power. The story line contrasts caring people from various religions vs. the brutal angry assaults of the Nazis. Not an easy read with no sugar coating, A TRACE OF SMOKE will have readers pondering whether this could happen in modern day America.
Harriet Klausner
Krapp's Last Cassette
Anne Argula
Ballantine, Mar 24 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 9780345498441
Highly regarded and connected Hollywood screenwriter Alex Krapp asks Seattle private investigator Quinn to come to Southern California to discuss an inquiry. Krapp wants Quinn to find fifteen year old Danny Timpkins, who survived the abuse of the satanic cult his parents belonged to.
Last year, the teen wrote a memoir that Krapp wants to adapt into an HBO film. He has never met the teen but has talked with him over the phone. However, a Vanity Fair reporter claims Danny the star of the memoir does not exist as the work is fiction. After learning why her client flew in an outsider, Quinn leans in the direction of the reporter even when she hears Danny talking to “Poppa” Alex over his speakerphone. There are too many holes in Danny's tale of woe; starting with Danny’s past paralleling the infamous Merck pedophile-rape case that she worked when she was an LAPD cop.
Quinn’s third investigation (see WALLA WALLA SUITE and HOMICIDE, MY OWN) is an excellent thriller filled with twists including an incredible climax and prologue. The inquiry is top rate as Quinn increasingly believes a fraudulent memoir has been perpetrated with a follow-up scam taking advantage of Krapp who displays a fatherly adulation to Danny. Readers will appreciate KRAPP’S LAST CASSETTE as Quinn tries to prove the lad exists as described for Alex’s emotional sake.
Harriet Klausner
The Sign
Raymond Khoury
Dutton, May 2009, $26.95
ISBN 9780525950974
TV reporter Grace Logan and her crew are covering the fragmentation of the Antarctic ice shelf. However, they notice a bright, iridescent light hovering in the sky. The TV team points their cameras at the glow, which does strange things before abruptly vanishing.
Around the world people from all nationalities, races and religions debate the unexplained phenomena. Politicians and other world leaders use the light as proof they are right though no one knows what the light is, how it came to be, who is behind the scene and what do they want. The fiery mysterious light next appears over the Arctic at the same time in a remote locale in Egypt a tired elderly Catholic priest hears voices in his head asking him if he is ready to lead people to salvation.
Combining diverse topics like global warming with divine intelligence, Raymond Khoury provides an exciting thriller that condemns extreme bias, which seems to always lead to disinformation and misinformation as the end justifies the mean. The story line is fast-paced from the first sighting until the final explanation with several intriguing twists in between. Fans will appreciate THE SIGN as everyone seems to bring their prejudice and personal demons to interpret the phenomena in their image.
Harriet Klausner
Alexandria
Lindsey Davis
Minotaur, May 12 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 0312379013
In 77 AD Rome, Marcus Didius Falco is an informer, a combination policeman and private eye who sometimes has as his client the Emperor Vespasian. However, it is not on the Emperor’s orders that he and his extended family are going to Alexandria. It is because his pregnant wife Helena Justina wants a vacation to see the Lighthouse and the Great Library. He is staying at the home of his Uncle Fulvius and his lover Cassius.
At dinner they meet the Librarian Thean, a good man who mumbles about disappearances he is helpless to prevent. The next day Thean is found dead in his office with the door locked from the outside. The autopsy proves he ingested poison from the flower leis Fulvius gave to all his guests. Falco is asked to investigate the Librarian’s death and he has to deal with the Director of the Museum, who officiates over the Library, Zoo and a few other noted departments. The people in contention to replace the deceased Librarian all have motives and each in addition to the Director is a nasty backstabber, but Falco believes one is literally a backstabber.
Nobody describes the Mediterranean region of the Ancient Roman era better than Lindsey Davis consistently does; her latest fabulous Falco whodunit brings to meticulous life Alexandria, a thriving city. Falco is at his best as an acerbic cynic suspecting everyone except perhaps Helena who assist him on his inquiry. The investigation is entertaining and cleverly devised so that fans of ancient era mysteries like those of Steven Saylor and John Maddox Roberts will relish Ms. Davis’ strong whodunit.
Harriet Klausner
Flood
Stephen Baxter
Roc, May 2009, $24.95
ISBN: 9780451462718
In 2016 in Barcelona, the religious fanatics still hold four hostages snatched several years ago. USAF Captain Lily Brooke, British military officer Piers Michaelmas, NASA scientist Gary Boyle; and Helen Gray are losing hope of ever regaining their freedom, but each vows to help one another through the ordeal and if they ever become liberated afterward. Affluent Brit AxysCorp security CEO Nathan Lammockson pulls off the impossible by rescuing the foursome after they were held for several years.
However, during their captivity, the world has radically changed as the water levels have reached pandemic flooding leaving whole countries beneath the sea and high points as exclusive property for those who can afford it and security. In a desperate gambit as he expects the entire land masses to go under the water, Nathan has moved his operation to the high Andes Inca capital of Cuzco where he has hired experts to build a new Queen Mary, he dubs Ark 3. He chooses who lives and who dies. In four decades, the ocean average depth above sea level rises exponentially as flood walls costly are overwhelmed. Nathan’s dream of Britannia ruling the waves again may happen, but outside of Ark 3 there may not be a human alive much longer as the end is near.
Obvious extrapolation of global warming and a theory on the mantle containing more water than the crust and with a nod to Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, FLOOD is an exhilarating rapidly rising cautionary science fiction thriller. The section titles tell much of what is happening as the mean sea level of 1.5 meters in 2010 rises to 1800-8800 meters above sea level between 2041 and 2052. The cast is solid with an ensemble of many more critical players than the five above. Though somewhat repetitive as cities and countries constantly drown, Stephen Baxter hooks his audience with his no hope for humanity tale; as the bible turns out to be a false prophet re the pledge to Noah never again by sea.
Harriet Klausner
Sea Changes
Gail Graham
Jade Phoenix, May 01 2009, $15.99
ISBN: 9780692001004
In Australia, Felicity no longer comforts her mom Sarah; she insists her mother move on with her life instead of still grieving her late husband Charles as almost two years have passed since the heart attack killed him. She tells her mom Charles was her dad and even his mother has moved on beyond mourning. The daughter also coldly lectures her mom over the annuity she accepted in which Sarah took care of herself only and complains that her mom’s shrink Dr. Kahn holds her back.
Sarah feels isolated from her family and decides to end her life at Bondi Beach with a final drowning swim. Instead of dying she finds an underwater civilization in which the occupants especially Xaxanader welcome the surface dweller. She soon is back on the beach wondering if what she saw is real until she returns to the sea world; especially afterward when Bantryd of the sea moves into her home with her in order to search for her parents who came ashore years ago. This happens at a time when missing teen heiress Jennyfer Blanchard who resembles Bantryd vanishes. Everyone sees the videotape that shows Sarah with Jennyfer; so Felicity, Kahn and anyone in the Brisbane area believe she killed Jennyfer.
This is an intriguing character driven fantasy with a deep message pleading with the survivor to seek a new groove when a life mate dies. Sarah’s overwhelming depression drives away her loved ones. Ultimately after finding life underneath the sea, Sarah must decide between memories fueled by grief and starting a new life to build new memories. She is a terrific protagonist who holds the whimsical yet melancholy story line together although the support cast feels too stereotypical on land and at sea as they exist only in terms of her. Readers will enjoy Sarah’s sea saga as she struggles to move on in her life following Charles. She considers suicide as the only solution, but learns there is so much more out there.
Harriet Klausner
Rescue Me
Christy Reece
Ballantine, Apr 28 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 9780345505422
At a society party in Washington DC, black-ops Jordan Montgomery feels a deep obsessive need for the tender charm and love of a beautiful stranger. He is unaware she is Devon Winters, whom he knew since childhood. She conceals her true identity from him because she fears he will reject her if he knows who she is. They go to his home and make love, but he is angry afterward; she assumes because she failed to mention she was a virgin. She runs away from him but comes back but not before he hears her mother’s ugly lies about her knowing his hatred will haunt her forever. However, someone abducts a fleeing Devon.
Years later, she becomes an agent for Last Chance Rescue who make daring saves of people abducted with no chance of freedom. Jordan is back in her life, but he knows her as Eden St. Claire; she hides her real identity of Devon from him. He is attracted to her and admires her skill and spunk on a kidnapped child rescue mission that they work together on. The pair realizes they love one another, but she fails to tell him the truth. When he finds out, he feels betrayed and walks out on her; unaware he leaves her back exposed from someone who wants her dead.
Mindful of the quality expected of Cherry Adair and Mariah Stewart, Christy Reece’s first novel is a terrific romantic suspense thriller. Devon is a survivor overcoming traumas, which not only made her stronger, but led her to LCR where she planned to do what she could to keep victims safe. Exciting although readers will want to smack Jordan for his pompous dumping without all the facts, fans will look forward to two more LC entries RETURN TO ME and RUN TO ME.
Harriet Klausner
Intent To Kill
James Grippando
Harper, Apr 28 2009, $25.95
ISBN: 9780061628689
Twenty-four year old Pawtucket Red Sox pitcher Ryan James is heading for the majors in nearby Boston. He is making his last start for the Triple A “PawSox” before leaving Rhode Island for Fenway. His wife Chelsea and their infant daughter Ainsley are coming to watch him pitch. However, behind schedule, an apparent drunk driver crashes into the car Chelsea drives. She dies, but thanks to the child restraining seat in the rear two years old Ainsley lives. The other driver vanishes without a trace.
Ryan’s life shattered that night. Instead of being on the big league mound, almost three years later he co-hosts a morning sports-talk radio show in Boston. Still grieving his loss, he never sleeps while trying to be the best single dad in the world. He remains outraged that the hit and run driver never was caught and his beloved’s case is colder than a New England winter. Suddenly on the third anniversary of the day his life ended, an anonymous tip claims "I know who did it." While PPD heats up the James case, Ryan makes a paradigm switch from DUI accident to homicide and believes his autism spectrum disorder brother-in-law Babes is the tipster, but he has vanished. Ryan begins a search for the truth with the help of prosecutor Emma Carlisle.
Though the conspiracy that Ryan and Emma start to unravel seems over the top of the Green Monster, the story line is a gripping thriller as an increasingly cold case of a deadly vehicular accident turns into premeditated murder. Fans of James Grippando will enjoy the tale, but leave the plausibility index in the dugout.
Harriet Klausner
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